Freedom
by Cerebella Kennor
Summary: OC  I always wanted to fly, so when a vampire showed up in my tower wanting to eat me, I was quick to strike a deal. Tony was right though; I should have listened to his warnings. Vampires are not the cudly creatures most people like to think they are.
1. All for the Sake of Flying

I do not own any of the characters (besides Emma, as she's an original character) and some of the ideas, such as the Stone of Attamon turning the vampires back into humans, that come from the film "The Little Vampire" of Alliance Atlantis. I will also admit to drawing inspiration from Bram Stoker's _Dracula_, so if you see any similarities, you know where they're from. Enjoy!

_OOOOOoooooOOOOO_

_The problem was that I'd always wanted to fly; when I was a kid I used to jump off the fence with a broomstick, or with a beach umbrella. I never did fly, though. It just wasn't possible for a human to fly without some sort of kite or plane. _

We had moved to Scotland after school ended, and it was already going to be the first full week since we'd been here. My little brother Tony, my parents, and I lived in an old castle, which was extremely cool. Our rooms were on the second floor, but I spent the majority of my time daydreaming in the tower. When it was windy, I would pretend that I was flying; it was easy to do so far above the ground. My parents tried to break me of this antisocial habit, but my brother thought I was being stupid. I thought Tony was stupid, so we were even.

_I blamed Tony for this mess._

Tony had been dreaming about vampires. He used to play Nintendo all day long, droning on and on about Yoshi, Pokemon, and Mario; now he spent all his time obsessing about the living dead. My parents were worried and tired because Tony would wake them up every night screaming about the same dream over and over again. All I knew was that there was an amulet, a beam of light, and a gathering of vampires and vampire hunters. It sounded stupid and extremely unrealistic. He would tell us to close our windows at night, to bring crucifixes with us wherever it was dark, and to never go out alone. We didn't listen to him, obviously.

_I should have listened to him. Little brothers know what's in the best interest for their sisters._

One night I couldn't sleep due to homesickness. I missed my friends, my old room, and the warm, humid air of San Diego. Trying to lighten up, I tied my heavy plaid housecoat around myself, slipped into my warm slippers, and climbed the stairs up to my tower. I considered it mine because no one else really went up there. Tony thought it was where the bats hid during the day and my parents were convinced that it was unstable (if they worried about that, why did they buy the place?). I shook my head and opened the heavy door, smirking when I heard my brother turn restlessly in his room at the creaking sound the old hinges made. He would probably run into my parents' bedroom to sleep again.

The stairs were made of stone and spiralled up sharply. I was winded by the time I opened the door that led into the tower room, but I felt happier already.

_I shouldn't have gone up there during the night, when everyone was asleep._

I walked slowly toward the window and sighed when I took in the familiar view. Scotland looked so different under the moonlight. The blue glow swept over the land, creating many shadows. It looked magical. I sighed and pulled an aged chaise closer to the window so I could sit down on the comfortable cushions. My elbow met the window's frame and I set my chin in the palm of my hand, staring into the night. I imagined that one day I would dive off the tower, picking up speed as the ground approached, but before my body would crumple to the ground I would change angles and fly above the lawn, sweeping my hands through the grass.

Something flew by my head, knocking me out of the chair and out of my fantasy. I hit the ground heavily, but immediately stood and dusted myself off, searching the tower for whatever it was that had just hit me. I couldn't see anything, but I felt unnerved, preyed upon. With one last glance out the window, I pulled away, turning toward the door.

_If I hadn't hesitated, would I have gotten away?_

A shadowy figure fell from the ceiling, hitting the stone. I froze, staring in fright as the shadow straightened itself, lifting its head to stare at me with blood-coloured eyes. I screamed, taking a step back. Within less than a second the creature's hand covered my mouth and nose, looking at me with such hunger that I felt the shriek die in my throat. My face was released and I breathed in greedily. Screaming again would be stupid – it might use violence to shut me up.

_Should I have fought harder? Would it have mattered?_

"You're a—" I swallowed, trying to spit the word out.

The creature grinned sinisterly, its fangs glistening in the moonlight. "A vampire," it finished for me.

My eyes were wide and I felt my heart jump into my throat. My gaze darted quickly between the door and the predator. Would I make it? I doubted it, but I tried anyway. I dashed around the vampire, scrambling for the door faster than I'd ever moved in my life. It wasn't fast enough though, because the vampire's hands grabbed onto the back of my arms and he tugged me toward the room, letting me fall onto the ground like a ragdoll. I winced in pain as my elbows connected with the stone floor. I could feel the bruises forming already. I barely had the chance to move before I found myself pressed against the wall, the vampire's hand squeezing my throat.

_Should I have given up then?_

"Please," I whispered, trying to pry the icy hand off my throat. The vampire smirked and dropped me. I gripped my neck and coughed, feeling the tender skin under my fingers tighten. "What do you want?" I asked.

He stared at me with half-lidded eyes, a look that said he was wondering if I was really that stupid or just playing dumb. "I'm hungry," he told me.

"Maybe," I coughed, "we could work out a deal?"

_Would it have made a difference?_

He hummed, looking a mixture of intrigued and bored before inquiring aloud, "Is this the part where you plead for your pathetic mortal life?"

I bit the inside of my cheek and looked at the wall, knowing that yes, this was the part where I begged. "If," I said slowly, "you keep me alive, I could provide blood for you on numerous occasions. If you don't take too much, I could recover and provide more. You could probably feed from me every two weeks."

The vampire laughed before baring its fangs and demanding, "There are hundreds of mortals I could suck dry – why should I allow you to live when the others have died by my hand?"

My mouth opened and shut, no words falling from my tongue. The vampire snorted and began to advance one more, but I held up my hands and shouted, "Because this way you won't leave a trail!"

The vampire paused, seeming truly to consider this. "And how do I know that you won't plant a hunter here to wait for my return?" he asked.

_I had thought of that, briefly, of finding a hunter, hanging crucifixes all over the house, spilling holy water on all the window- and doorframes, and carrying stakes around with me wherever I would go._

I blurted the first thing that came to mind, "If you take me flying, there's no way I'd tell."

He raised an eyebrow at me in question, "Why not?"

I stared out the window, biting my lip and thinking seriously about this. "I've always wanted to fly," I admitted. "If you were to take me, and if I could trust you to keep your word and not harm me, then there would be no reason for me to tell. We'd both get what we want."

"And why shouldn't I turn you?"

"Because if you do I can tell my family. If you kill me, someone will find me and they'll recognize the bite marks," I explained, trying to sound rational while my heart slammed painfully into my ribs.

"Fine," he agreed, "but I'm going to feed from you tonight, and I won't take you flying. If you prove yourself to be a trustworthy mortal, I'll return in exactly two weeks from today to feed again."

"And you'll take me flying before that?" I asked, hating that I sounded so hopeful.

He smirked but nodded in agreement. "Now take that wretched thing off your neck," he ordered, motioning to my plaid robe.

"No!" I declined. "You aren't going to bite my neck!" Before he could protest angrily, which he seemed ready to do, I continued, "It's way too visible, everyone will see it and they'll know what happened. Not to mention the neck is a bleed out point. You could sink your teeth into the wrong place and it'll be over for me in a second!"

"Fine," he snarled impatiently, "then where do you propose I feed from?"

I looked at my hands in contemplation before offering my left wrist and clarified my reasoning, "Unless you bite me like a savage animal and tear my arteries, I don't think I'll bleed to death from my wrist. Plus I have these arm-warmers that my friends gave me. I used to wear them all the time, and I can just tell my parents that I want something to remind me of my friends."

_I'm not sure why I told him that. He was so frightening, but I found myself telling him more than he needed to know. Was it a subconscious desire to live? Did I believe that if he knew more about me he would not kill me?_

"Quiet, mortal," he barked, lifting my wrist to his mouth and inhaling deeply. He stared into my eyes and I felt my head become fuzzy. After that, darkness.

OOOOOoooooOOOOO

I woke up as the sun began to rise over the horizon, feeling cold and achy. I wondered hazily why I was still in the tower. Did I fall asleep there? Why wasn't I in my chair? I shook my head and tugged the chaise away from the window before turning around and exiting the tower room. I entered the house and shivered, feeling the difference in air temperature. It was hot in the house compared to the tower. I shut and locked the heavy door, wondering why my heart was pounding in my chest but too tired to really remember. I collapsed on my bed, pulling the blankets around me and groaning in pain, succumbing to sleep once more.

"Emma! Get up, we're going to the market!" my mom called, knocking loudly on my door.

I groaned, opening my eyes and closing them just as quickly. It was too bright, I had a headache, I was groggy, and I felt weak. "Okay," I said hoarsely.

"Emma? Did you hear me?" she asked.

"Yes!" I called, wincing. "Let me just shower."

"Be down in a half hour at most," my mom warned.

I slumped down on my bed, letting out a heavy sigh and wondering why I felt so exhausted. I had to get up though, so I dragged myself out of bed and yawned. I picked my clothes for the day, rubbing my fuzzy-sighted eyes, and locked myself into the bathroom. A sister never knows when her brother will try to sneak into her private space, after all. How many times had I gone into the shower back in California only to find my clothes gone when I got out? The door was unlocked when that happened, and my brother cackled madly all the while, the little bastard.

I climbed out of the shower, dressed, dried my hair and walked slowly back into my room. I picked up my brush and headed to the mirror, but when I saw my reflection the brush fell from my limp hand. I was a mess. My eyes looked sunken, there were dark circles surrounding them, my skin was deathly pale, and my arm was mangled. All of a sudden I remembered what had happened last night: the vampire in the tower, my offer, his acceptance, those eyes, and then nothing. I stumbled away from the mirror and walked over to the open window, thrusting my arm into the sunlight. It didn't burn, so I sighed in relief: I was alive.

_If I had known what would happen..._

"Emma? Are you almost ready?" my dad called from downstairs.

"Just about!" I shouted back, quietly panicking. I had to hide my wrist. Those two puncture wounds were so obvious. I dug one of my black arm-warmers out of a box in my closet and quickly covered my wrist. No one could know – if they found out, it would be all over. I would never fly. I had to keep my silence.

_...would I still have gone through with it?_

I dug through a box that I had thought I would never open again. My make-up was a couple of years old because I only wore it when I'd been thirteen and had wanted to seem more adult. I knew now that I would probably always be a child at heart, but I kept the box despite never wearing make-up. I figured that I'd use it on Halloween at least, but it turned out that I would put it to use much sooner. I quickly applied foundation to my face, covering up the dark circles, the paleness of my face and neck, and the bruises on my elbows. No one would suspect. I applied eyeliner and shadow before sliding my wallet into my back pocket and descending the stairs. My parents looked at me in surprise, noticing immediately that I was wearing make-up. "Are you expecting to meet someone special?" my mom asked slyly.

My dad looked a little angry at that, and my brother a little grossed out, but I quickly cut in, "I just felt like it."

When we were finished eating breakfast we climbed into the car and headed toward the market. As usual, it was bustling. Vendors were chatting with their customers, kids were running around, and families walked around with bags full of goods. Everyone was with someone, and wearing bright summer colours, so the lone man dressed all in black stood out against the crowd. He wore heavy combat boots, a rough leather jacket, and carried around a dark bag. He was terribly suspicious. "It's a vampire!" my brother shouted none too quietly.

My parents shushed him, but it was too late. The man had heard him and was walking toward us, a strange glint entering his eyes as he spotted me. He looked at my covered arm and narrowed his stare. "Can we help you?" my dad asked.

"You wouldn't happen to have a bat problem in your neighbourhood, would you?" he asked my parents, though he stared at me to catch my reaction.

He knew. How did he know? "You mean like vampires?" my idiot brother asked.

The man's eyes narrowed even further. "Tony!" my mom scolded. "That's enough!"

"You'll have to forgive my son, he's been having nightmares recently," my dad told the suspicious man.

"I'm something of an exterminator," the man said, "and I've noticed an abnormal amount of bats hanging around. Your son's probably heard them flying at night."

My parents noted the way the man's eyes continued to turn to me and decided that they'd had enough. "We haven't got any problem," my dad said. "If you'll excuse us, we've got some shopping to do."

_Sometimes I wonder what would have happened had I confessed to him. He had been too intimidating though, and I'd figured that I would be worse off in his hands than in the creature's. _

"See!" Tony exclaimed. "He knows about the vampires too!"

"He was talking about bats," my mom said.

"Yeah, but vampires can turn into bats, _duh_," Tony argued.

"That's enough," my dad told him. "And you shouldn't wear make-up anymore, Em."

I rolled my eyes, telling him, "The guy was crazy – you can't base a statement like that on _one_ incident."

"You haven't worn it since you were, what, twelve?" he asked. "I'm sure it won't kill you to stop wearing it now. It's only been a day."

"Say that to my acne," I snapped.

"Oh, honey," my mom sighed in sympathy, "do you want us to get you something? I'm sure the Scots have some neat natural remedies you could try."

"She doesn't need it," my dad said. "She looks fine."

"Bob," my mom began, "you can't say that to a girl."

My dad groaned but finally agreed to searching for a new acne-fighting product. Tony laughed, making fun of me; he didn't know what acne was, but he suspected that it had something to do with cooties. We didn't bother correcting him, my parents because they thought he was too young to understand puberty, and I because Tony had just taken their attention off of me. Acne was the perfect cover – at least it would work for now. I didn't know if I could pull it off again two weeks from now, when the vampire returned.

OOOOOoooooOOOOO

That week I went to bed early and woke up late, feeling overwhelmingly tired. I told my parents that I stayed up late into the night to try and explain why I woke up past noon when I used to be a morning person. It worked, and my dad unknowingly legitimized my story by saying that the internal clock seemed to invert itself for teenagers. Tony was convinced I was consorting with vampires, and he was more adamant than ever to get me to wear a crucifix, lock my doors, and stay close to the family at all times. He would sneak into my room at night whenever he awoke to try and catch me in the act.

_Brothers know best – even when they're being downright annoying, they make an awful lot of sense._

By the time the second week rolled around I felt like myself again. I lounged around the house, played games – I even went exploring with my little brother during the day, enjoying the feel of the sunlight on my skin. It was so warm, so bright, so _alive_. I had to wear sunglasses most of the time because the bright light hurt my eyes, but nobody thought it was strange, not even Tony. I had twenty pairs of sunglasses from when we lived in San Diego. They were something of a trend for me; I'd wear simple jeans and shirts, making whichever elaborate pair of sunglasses I wore that day the focus of my outfit.

My high energy wasn't to remain, however, as the sun set on Saturday night. The vampire was to return, and if I wanted to fly I'd have to keep my promise. After everyone had fallen asleep, I slid a warm thigh-grazing coat on, tied my warmest pair of shoes onto my feet, and quietly exited my room. I slunk down the hall and slowly pulled the door that led to the tower open. It creaked slightly and I held my breath, waiting to see if anyone would wake up. When I was satisfied that no one had heard anything, I shut the door softly behind me and climbed the stairs.

"I'm surprised you kept your promise, mortal," the vampire said from within the shadows of the tower.

"Of course I did," I gulped nervously, "I want to fly, you want blood; it's the perfect trade-off. Why would I ruin that?"

The vampire remained silent and I had a feeling that he knew plenty of reasons. Rather than reply, he roughly grabbed my hand and pulled me to the window. "How long is enough?" he asked.

"You're asking me?" I wondered in surprise.

"You made the contract," the vampire said. "I just accepted the terms. Now how long? I do not want to be gone long."

"Well," I worried my lip, "I'd like to be out as long as possible. I suppose an hour or two would do."

"An hour it is," he declared, pulling me toward the window.

We stood on the ledge and I looked down, realizing how very far the ground was from up here. But I was excited; I could feel the blood rushing through my veins, hear my heart pounding in my ears.

We jumped. I held in the scream that wanted to escape me, silently begging the vampire to keep his promise. I didn't want him to let me fall to my death as some sort of sick joke. He kept his promise though, and, just like in my daydream, we pulled up from the dive right before we would have hit the earth. I ran my hand along the grass, a grin stretching from ear to ear. I was flying! We swept along the grass for a short while before lifting higher into the air, flying above my house's gates and out into the open sky. "This is awesome!" I exclaimed.

The vampire looked at me strangely, his brows furrowing in thought. "You've always wanted to fly?" he asked.

I nodded, not bothering to look at him as I answered, "Since I was a kid. Flying is just... I can't even describe it!"

"Then why not become a vampire?"

I did look at him then, worried for my own sake. "Because," I explained, "I love the day, the sun. I think I'd become depressed if I didn't get to see the sun every day. I get that way when it rains, even."

"The moon is our sun," he stated rather blandly.

"Yeah, but it doesn't exactly provide Vitamin D."

The vampire didn't reply to that, he just kept directing us through the air. I was glad that I had decided to wear a coat, because it was freezing. Our high altitude and speed made me forget that it was even summer, but I didn't care. We breezed through the clouds and I laughed joyfully, running my hands inside the mist that surrounded us. I almost wanted to sing about 'A Whole New World', but I refrained. The vampire didn't seem particularly happy having to bring me flying, and since he was obviously stronger that I, it'd be rather stupid to try to aggravate him by singing a Disney song.

It was too soon when we landed on the window's ledge, and I sighed in disappointment. I really wanted to be back in the sky, with the clouds and the stars. There was really nothing like it. "Am I to use the same wrist?" the vampire asked immediately.

_I should have realized how very cold and uncaring he was when he demanded his payment straight away._

I frowned, feeling my euphoria die as I realized that I would feel awful for the next five days at least. "Of course," I replied. "It's easier to hide if it's all bunched together. I only ever wear the one arm-warmer anyway – it's something of a fad."

The creature didn't care about fashion – if it did, I thought, it wouldn't be wearing leather trousers, a horizontally-striped yellow and black shirt, an ancient-looking (and I mean _ancient_) Elizabethan trench coat, and pirate boots. I mean, pick a century and stick to it!

Our gazes met once more and the last thing I saw before darkness engulfed me were those bloody, hungry eyes.

OOOOOoooooOOOOO

"Em? Are you coming?" my mom called.

I groaned, wondering how I'd gotten back to bed when I couldn't remember anything after the vampire had last looked at me. "I'll be there in a bit!" I told her.

I climbed out of bed, but when I tried to stand I had to sit straight back down as my head began to spin. I stood successfully on my third attempt, yet I still had to lean onto the walls while I picked out my clothes for the day. While in the shower I inspected my arm and frowned. The first bite mark was nothing but a white scar, and the second, the bite from last night, was already beginning to scab over. I frowned but didn't place any importance on the fact, wondering instead if vampires could heal faster than humans, and if their saliva carried any of those properties. They probably did.

When I looked in the mirror I saw that I seemed pale compared to the day before, but since I'd gained some colour the previous week, I looked as I had before the whole vampire shenanigan started. I didn't put any make-up on, but made sure to grab my sunglasses and slide them onto my nose before I went down for breakfast. My eyes, normally hazel, seemed to have flecks of red in them. I found it disconcerting but shrugged it off. I'd heard that some people's eye-colour change from extreme emotion, and I figured that this was the first time in my life that I'd felt so fatigued.

OOOOOoooooOOOOO

The market was the same as it was every Sunday; I wound up purchasing a new pair of black-tinted sunglasses and a pretty navy long-sleeved shirt. It wasn't fancy, but the sleeves reached the end of my fingertips. It'd be perfect to hide the bite marks. "We'll be right back, Emma, you just stay on the bench and rest," my mom instructed.

"I guess we shouldn't have gone on that long hike yesterday, it probably tired you out," my dad rationalized.

I smiled tightly at them, wondering why they (and everyone else, for that matter) were speaking so loudly, but I remained silent and seated, placing all our shopping bags on the bench beside me so that no one could sit next to me. I didn't need someone screaming in my ear. I made sure no one was looking before switching my old pair of sunglasses with the ones I'd just bought. "No bat problems, eh?" someone asked from beside me.

I jumped about a foot in the air and turned toward the voice, recognizing at once the man we'd seen two weeks ago. He looked to be dressed the same except for the normal coloured jeans; I thought the change made him look less likely to commit a crime. "I don't know what you're talking about," I said airily.

"You listen to me, girl," he growled. "If you don't stop seeing whichever hell-beast you're seeing, you're going to wind up deader than you already are."

"I'm just as alive as you are," I pointed out forcibly.

"Your heart may still be beating, but I can guarantee it won't remain that way," he warned. "Tell me where you're meeting the vampire and I'll solve this problem for you, then you can go back to primping in front of the mirror like a good girl."

"I don't know what you're talking about," I repeated stubbornly. "I'm not seeing anyone – I'm still a child, for God's sake!"

He sighed in frustration, running his hand down his face before digging his hand in his pocket and handing me a small card. "If you ever decide to get your airhead out of the clouds, give me a call. You're meddling in things that are darker and more dangerous than you realize," he cautioned me.

I snorted contemptuously, "I think I can handle my own affairs, thank you."

_Why did I have to be so damned stubborn? How could I not have realized that he was right?_

He laughed, shaking his head and wandering off, somehow blending in with the crowd. "Who was that?" my mom asked.

I shoved the little card into my pocket and shook my head. "It was that vampire guy!" Tony shouted.

"What did he want?" my dad worried. "You weren't even wearing make-up today - and you have sunglasses on!"

"He's just crazy or something. He was blathering on about bat infestations again, that's all," I assured them, shrugging.

My parents nodded even though they didn't look reassured at all. My dad was even suggesting buying a nun's dress for me. I let them talk and remained quiet on the ride back home. The moment we arrived, I helped bring in the bags and then told my parents that I was going to go take a nap. They let me go, my dad still feeling sorry for having taken me on that long hike, and my mom worried. Tony thought I was just being lazy. I rolled my eyes and closed the door in my brother's face when he tried to follow me into my room. He didn't need to see me like this.

Behind the closed door I sagged in relief, kicking off my shoes and taking off my sunglasses. I fell onto my bed and remembered the card the crazy man had given me. The curtains were mostly closed, but they let in enough light by which to see. I read the word 'VampKill' printed in large letters. Underneath, it said 'Rookery' and gave contact information. I threw the useless card into the trash. There was no reason for me to keep it; I could handle _one_ vampire, and besides, we had a deal. It seemed rather sound to me.

OOOOOoooooOOOOO

Just like the previous time, it took me a week to recuperate. I noticed, within that week, that my ears had become sensitive. I couldn't listen to music at the same volume, and I could barely listen to my family talk without getting a headache. The fatigue went away though, just as before. I regained the colour I had lost in my face, but my eyes were still flecked with red even though I was no longer exhausted.

The sixth Saturday rolled around quickly and I spent the day outside with my family. We played catch for a while, my dad taught us (for the thousandth time) how to putt, and my mom baked cookies. It was a good day, and I knew that it would be an even better night. I would fly again.

It felt like an eternity, waiting for the sun to creep beyond the horizon. It took a ridiculous amount of time, even though it was actually setting a little earlier every day. I waited up and listened from behind my closed bedroom door as the rest of my family prepared for sleep. They settled in and the house filled with the sounds of their gentle breathing. I crept once more into the tower room, being extremely cautious with the heavy door because I could no longer judge how loud was too loud. I climbed the stairs in record time, spotting the vampire the moment I exited the stairwell. "Shall we?" I asked with a grin, offering my hand.

The vampire glared but slipped his cold hand into mine regardless. We jumped as one out of the window and I breathed deeply while we repeated the same swooping motion as before. I loved running my hand through the grass as we flew by. I loved playing in the clouds even more, though it left me rather damp. I smiled and whooped for joy, unable to remember a time when I'd felt so free. There was _no way_ I'd give this up! Feeling weak for a week was nothing as far as payment went. I got to experience the thrill of a lifetime for a simple pint of blood. It was great!

_But was it worth the sacrifice?_

We landed inside the tower, and I couldn't help but grin at the vampire. He returned it, and though it had a more sinister air than mine, I could care less. He lifted my wrist to his lips and smirked before doing that trick with his eyes. I surrendered to the darkness with open arms. It was only fair.

OOOOOoooooOOOOO

Sunday dawned much too early for my tastes, even though it was nearly noon by the time I crawled out of bed. I wondered why my parents hadn't thought to wake me, but quickly realized that it was the end of the month, which meant that they were at church with my little brother. I had forgone the worshipping of God quite some time ago, but my brother couldn't do the same (no matter how much he wished to skip mass) until it was time for his Confirmation, when he'd be old enough to rationally decide whether or not he wanted to reaffirm his beliefs.

I rose slowly from my bed and very nearly crawled to my closet to fetch my clothes. I was thankful that no one was home – if they had been, they would have heard me collapse in the shower half a dozen times. It took me an hour to shower and another to brush my teeth and hair, dry myself off, and put my clothes on. By the time I'd made it downstairs and collapsed onto the couch my mom came in shouting about leftovers. They usually went out for brunch after mass, and they always brought me leftovers so that I wouldn't feel left out. Normally I was excited – breakfast was definitely the best meal of the day, food-wise – but today I just groaned and shook my head.

"Are you feeling okay?" my mom asked softly, pressing a hand to my forehead. "You're freezing!" she gasped before yanking a blanket off the couch and tucking it around me. "What happened?"

I shrugged and lied, "I took a cold shower."

"But why?" she asked.

"I woke up feeling hot," I tried.

"Emma we've told you before that trying to regulate your temperature in the shower is not a good idea," my dad scolded. "First scalding showers in the winter and now ice showers?"

I shrugged again. Tony looked at me with suspicion before asking if I wanted to go play with him outside. "I'll go outside with you, it's probably a lot warmer out there, but I'm too tired to play."

"You're always tired," he complained. "What do you do at night anyway?"

"I read," I said defensively.

"You don't have any new books," he murmured suspiciously.

"What, you can restart your Nintendo games, but I can't reread my favourite books?" I demanded.

He raised his arms in defeat and dragged me out into the yard. I slid my darkest tinted glasses onto my nose and stepped into the light. It burned, so I spent the remainder of my time outside hiding in the shade our house provided. Luckily it was surrounded by a brick wall; I only had to shift a few times during the day as the sun slowly fell. Tony wasn't suspicious at all.

OOOOOoooooOOOOO

I wasn't all better by the time two weeks had gone by. I lost my breath easily, my skin paled even further, and my parents constantly worried about me. They suggested more than once that I should visit a doctor, but I refused. "I'll be fine after I've had a decent night's sleep," I told them every time they brought the subject up. "Tony keeps yelling and it wakes me up."

Tony felt awful, of course, and I felt terrible for making him seem like the guilty one, but I couldn't allow anyone to find out my secret. They would kill the vampire, and I would never fly again. I could never let that happen, damn the consequences!

My family fell asleep once more and I climbed the spiral staircase. It took me nearly three times as long as it normally did due to the large amount of pauses I had to take. I was gasping and sweating from the exertion by the time I made it into the tower. The vampire didn't seem too concerned, only staring at me with knowing eyes.

_He knew, there was no way that he couldn't have known._

It seemed to me that we were flying faster than usual, but I knew that that was not the case. My head spun from our normal speed, and the icy winds above the clouds chilled me to the bone. Yet I enjoyed our flight. I shouted gleefully, laughed uproariously, and in the end I felt more alive than I had during the past two weeks. "Thank you for doing this," I said to the vampire as we landed softly on the tower floor.

The vampire looked at me as if to say I was the biggest moron he'd ever had the displeasure to meet, but I didn't let it bother me. I gladly offered him my wrist, smiling all the while. I would probably sleep well tonight because whatever technique the creature used on me always made my slumber deep and peaceful though I never woke up feeling rested.

"What are you doing?" I demanded when I felt his fangs graze my wrist. "Aren't you going to put me to sleep?"

"Oh, you'll sleep, you needn't worry about that," he promised before sinking his canines into my pale skin.

I gasped in pain. His teeth tore easily through my thin skin, and I watched in fear as blood dribbled down my arm. The vampire licked every last drop and turned back to the puncture wounds, parting his lips. He latched on and slurped loudly. It sounded disgusting, but I didn't have the energy to get sick. My knees gave way and I crumpled to the ground, my head light and my eyesight fading. The vampire licked up the last drops of blood and laid a bloody kiss on my lips. "Until the night," he bade.

"Wait!" I called. "What's your name?"

He paused, turning his head enough for me to see his profile. "Gregory," he told me, "Gregory Sackville-Bagg."

Then he jumped out the window, leaving me alone in the tower. I licked the blood from my lips and crawled toward the chair, using it to support me as I stood on unsteady legs. Going down the stairs, I had to sit and drag myself down step by step. Standing back up to open the door took me longer than I would have liked and my heart fluttered in my chest as I heard my parents shifting in their bed. I closed my bedroom door just as my mom mumbled to my dad, "It's your turn to check on Tony."

I wobbled over to my bed and silently dropped my coat on the floor before crawling under the covers. My dad opened my brother's door and asked if everything was okay. Tony, who had yelped in fright, began telling my dad about a bat that had just passed by his window. Tony forced my dad to open my door to check on me, and when they found me curled up in bed, my dad whispered, "See? She's sleeping peacefully."

_I should have asked for help then, before the world began to fade._

The two crept into my parents' room where they proceeded to fall asleep. I turned onto my back and stared at the ceiling. It looked as though the ceiling was moving, and the different shades were blending in together. I closed my eyes, feeling my surroundings slip away.

I lost too much blood, I realized, but when I tried to open my mouth and scream for help, I couldn't. My body wouldn't move. Blinking took too much effort. My bed was so warm, so comfortable. It felt like I was drifting on clouds. Blackness crept up slowly, taking my peripheral vision first. I could see naught but the shifting ceiling, and eventually that too began to fade. No one would know that I'd been murdered – the wounds on my wrist had already healed, and the scars had vanished. There was no trace.

I died that night, alone.


	2. In Death

**PART II**

When I next woke I felt extremely hungry and well-rested. A good flight will do that for you, I figured. But I opened my eyes and couldn't see anything. I felt around, soft fabric surrounded me, but there was no room to move. This couldn't be my bed.

"I'll see yeh in th' morning, lad. Try to leave before dusk though, ay? Maybe a bit earlier, it's already dark with all these clouds. A storm's comin', I'd say," a man said.

His footsteps became distant, a gate creaked, and something heavy began to thump against the material above me. I screamed, thrashing about. Pushing up hard, light slipped into my prison and my suspicions were proven to be correct: I was being buried. My mind fogged, and I felt a deep, dark rage fill me. I shoved the coffin's lid open and jumped the six feet that separated me from the grass with ease. The one who'd been throwing dirt onto my coffin screamed. I yanked him by the collar and sank my teeth into his neck, savouring the sweetness that caressed my tongue and abated my hunger. When there was nothing left, my hands released the corpse and it fell loudly to the ground.

My mind cleared. I stumbled back, my hand lifting to my mouth where I felt the last bit of the boy's blood dribble down my chin. I wiped it on the sleeve of my black shirt. He was just a boy. He was just a _boy_. _He was just a boy!_ I killed him! Something within me purred in delight, but I refused to fall prey to its instincts once more.

I turned around, prepared to flee, but paused with my foot in the air. I turned back to the boy I had just killed and stared at the cooling corpse. My eyes flickered between the body and my coffin. Without emotion, I picked the boy up and placed him gently in the open coffin, closing the lid when he was laid out. I picked up the shovel and spent the next ten minutes flinging dirt into the hole. When I was finished, I seemed not to be tired even after such exertion.

I dropped the shovel onto the ground and prepared to leave once more when I spotted silver out of the corner of my eye. I knelt on the ground and stared at a beautiful silver crucifix. I reached my hand out toward it, feeling guilty that I hadn't buried the boy with his cross. The moment my fingers brushed against the cross I yelped. The tips of my fingers were red – I'd been burned!

"Organ failure due to undiagnosed anaemia, eh? I think someone's been misinformed," someone chuckled.

I jumped up to my feet and stared in horror at the man I'd met twice in the marketplace. _VampKill_, the card had read 'VampKill'. "What do you want?" I asked, voice trembling.

"What do I want?" he parroted. "I want to rid the world of hell-beasts like you. I told you that you were meddling in dangerous things. Seems no one wants to listen anymore. Kids think they know best."

I took a step back when he brandished a sharp wooden stake, my hands held up in front of my chest and a terrified expression flitting across my face. "I haven't done anything wrong!" I said to him.

"Oh no?" he wondered. "Then who's that boy you just buried? Just a corpse that's been rotting away on the grass? He was like that when you got here?"

"I – I didn't mean to," I cried. "I couldn't – I was just so hungry!"

"You'll always be hungry," he muttered. "Let me kill you now and maybe God will forgive you for being such a bloody moron."

"No!" I shouted.

There was a loud crash of thunder. The vampire exterminator looked up briefly, but by the time his eyes went back to where I'd stood, I was long gone. I ran out of the cemetery as fast as my legs would carry me.

Eventually I was close to the farm Tony and I had visited some weeks ago – I could find my way home easily! I began walking, feeling an ominous pressure build the closer I got. Finally, when night had fallen, I stood before the closed gates. I stared at the tower blankly, then at the dark window of my room. Shaking my head, I crept into the yard and stuck to the shadows. As I neared the lit window at the side of the house, where the kitchen was, I heard my parents talking quietly. "Bob," my mom choked, "how could we not have noticed?"

I peeked into the room and saw my dad wrap his arms around her, rubbing circles on her back as she cried into his shoulder. "I don't know," he replied. "We _wanted_ to take her to the hospital, but she thought she was fine, and we respected that."

"We shouldn't have moved here," my mom whispered. "I'll bet she didn't tell us because she hated us for taking her away from her friends."

"No, Dottie," my dad said, "she didn't hate us. And it would have happened in California if it hadn't happened here."

I hated that he was wrong. If we'd been in California, I would have been out with my friends. I never would have met a single vampire. "I hate it here," my brother said, coming into the room.

I ducked my head quickly when I noticed that he was facing the window. He hadn't seen me though, I knew, because he would have screamed if he had. "I know it's hard, Tony," my dad said, "but I promise it'll get better."

"What will?" Tony asked in confusion.

"We know you miss your sister—" my dad went on.

"Sister?" Tony asked before my dad could finish. "I don't have a sister."

A sob escaped me and I ran once more, slamming the gates open with more force than I had had when human, and running with no particular direction in mind. When my legs finally collapsed, I was far from home – or, where I used to live. I couldn't even see a single light in the distance, except for the waning moon. I sobbed into my hands, Tony's words echoing loudly in my head, over and over, again and again.

He was right. He was _right_! He didn't have a sister. I'd been stupid. I had died, leaving him alone. I'd turned into the very creature that he feared most, that haunted his nightmares. How could I ever return? He would be terrified of me, and my parents – God, my parents! – what would they think of me?

The night passed by quickly, and dawn swiftly approached. I stared grimly at the horizon. The sky changed from black to navy, the stars faded, the moon lost its strength, and the sun – the sun I used to love – burned me as a sliver of it rose above the sea. Unable to stand it, I turned in a panic and tried to find a spot where I could hide from that awful fire, but there was none. Only plains surrounded me.

There!

The waves crashed against the side of the cliff, but there was a point where the water went further, underneath the ground. I tried to climb down the side, my skin beginning to smoke, but I slipped and fell into the water. The sea cooled my burning skin, skin that I could feel already starting to heal. The cave's mouth opened directly in front of me, a gaping blackness. I climbed onto the rocky shore and crept into the gloomy cavern. I walked further in, watching with trepidation as the sun followed swiftly on my heels. Eventually there was a change in direction and pleasant darkness greeted me once more.

OOOOOoooooOOOOO

I couldn't say how many days I'd laid listlessly in the cave, but I knew what had forced me to come out when the sun set: I was hungry. My stomach churned and my darker instincts were screaming at me to fly out into the night until I could bear it no longer. I stood on weak legs and stumbled out of the cave. Everything was bright, though I knew that it was night. My eyes had adjusted to my condition, and darkness seemed like day. The moon was my new sun.

Standing on the rocks outside of the cave I'd made my home for – I glanced at the waxing moon, which was nearly full – a couple of weeks, I looked up and wondered how on earth I was going to get up there.

"_You can fly,_" my instincts whispered.

I swallowed heavily and threw myself into the air. My feet met the grass of the cliff's side not long after and I took in the sights, greedily searching for a meal. It seemed that I could hear the whisper of every blade of grass, and my instincts called to me once more, directing me forward and closer to where a sweet smell emanated from. I spotted a deer. We stared at one another until it took off, sensing the predatory nature of my stare. Though weak, I caught up to the animal in no time and pounced, roughly tackling it to the ground. It whined an squirmed, but I efficiently snapped its neck and the animal fell dead at my side. I grinned and sank my teeth into its neck, noisily draining the deer of its fresh, warm blood. I groaned in delight, my eyes briefly closing.

The blood was gone quickly, but I was still hungry. I licked my lips, savouring what was now a delicacy. I dropped the empty carcass and looked to the sky. The night was young, I had lots of time to grab another bite and to find a more pleasant place to stay. I jumped into the air, spinning once and feeling the shift as I became a small bat. Tony was right, vampires _could_ shape-shift. I flapped my wings and shot off into the sky, using all of my senses – echolocation included – to find more food.

The sound of two young boys playing below attracted my attention immediately. The smell of their sweet life drifted through my nose and I quickly reverted back to human form, peeking through a closed window. The boys' grandfather, one whose blood smelt too old to drink, poked his head into the room and told the boys to settle down for bed because they had school the following day. The boys quickly hopped into their own beds and wished their grandfather goodnight. "Don't you want to open your window?" the old man asked.

"No!" they shouted in unison, sounding afraid.

I moaned slightly as their smell changed, becoming even more enticing. My stomach grumbled and I glared at the window. It was locked, and apparently the boys would not let it be opened even though the night was warm. I cursed silently but watched with greedy eyes as they turned onto their sides and began chatting quietly. I would eat again, I promised myself.

A window was open on the first floor directly beneath the boys' room. I made sure there was no one present before floating into the room, falling gently and quietly onto my feet. I smirked, feeling my fangs peek over my lips. This was too easy. Avoiding the maids was the most difficult part, but because it was night and the majority of the lights were turned off, it was easy to glide through the shadows unnoticed. I sniffed the air, smelling for the boys.

There! "_Kill them_," my instincts whispered. "_Suck them dry!_"

"No," I told them.

I would not kill another person. I would feed, but _only_ feed. And I would not drink twice from the same human. That was why I had become a vampire; it was because I'd lost so much blood in such a short period of time that my body could not produce enough cells to protect itself from the venom. It resorted to vampirism to remain animate.

The boy I had killed all those nights ago in the cemetery would not become a vampire, however, because I'd drained him of life. If I had left some blood in him, then he would have turned. But he did not.

The door opened silently and I stuck myself to the ceiling as the boys pretended to sleep. I closed the door. They opened their eyes and sighed in relief when they saw that their grandfather was not there. "I wouldn't be too relieved, boys" I told them, landing softly on the carpet.

"W-who are you?" the taller one whimpered.

"Mm," I mused, "I don't think I'll tell you that."

"We've been good!" the smaller one insisted. "We haven't hurt him at all since!"

"We even carried his books and did his homework," said his brother.

"How about you tell me your names, and then we'll see, yeah?" I asked.

"I'm Nigel," the shorter one said.

"Flint," said the tallest brother.

"Now that we've been properly introduced," I began.

"But we don't know _your_ name," Nigel pointed out.

"That's a shame," I said, pretending to frown sadly at them. "I'm not going to tell you, though. Now who first?"

"F-first?" Flint wondered.

I smirked at them, telling them as though it had been the most obvious of things, "I'm hungry."

"You can't kill us," Nigel said. "We'll scream."

I held him up by the collar of his pyjamas in a flash. "If you do," I warned, shaking him and making his feet dangle, "I will kill everyone in this household but _you_."

He swallowed heavily and his brother glared at him, muttering, "Idiot," under his breath.

"Now, since you offered," I added, "I'll feed from you first."

OOOOOoooooOOOOO

I left feeling full. The boys were sound asleep because I had learned the eye trick, and I might have convinced them that it had been a dream. Now that my energy levels were up to par, I flew up into the air and began my search for a more comfortable home. I couldn't resist passing over my old home, something drew me there - and I was glad that I did when I spotted Tony leading a bunch of vampires onto the property. I landed firmly onto the grass in front of him without realizing that it might shock him to see his dead sister looking quite alive. He screamed. One of the vampires, what looked to be the youngest boy, covered Tony's mouth and urged him to be quiet.

"Tony," I asked tersely, "what are you doing?"

"Em?" he choked.

"Are you stupid?" I wondered. "These are _vampires_! They'll kill you!"

"You do realize," the oldest man said wryly, "that you yourself are a vampire?"

"Of course I know that!" I snarled. "How could I not realize when one of _your kind_ killed me?"

"You wanted it," another, more familiar voice spoke darkly.

I sucked in a sharp breath and we all turned as one to stare at the eldest son, who was thankfully wrapped in a straight-jacket and muzzled. "Gregory," I breathed in acknowledgement.

"You bit _another_ mortal?" his father demanded.

"She wanted it," he repeated.

"I wanted to fly," I said sharply.

"You were the one who made the deal," he retorted.

"You would have killed me straight away if I hadn't," I argued.

"Then you wouldn't be a vampire, you'd be _dead_," he snapped.

"I _am_ dead, you moron!"

"_Shut up!"_ my instincts cried. "_This is your sire!_"

"You could have found a hunter for when I returned," he disputed. "Then you could have had _me_ killed and not had to worry about any of this!"

"Gregory, that's enough," his father said shortly.

I went to open my mouth once more, but Tony tugged on my hand and stared at me with wide eyes. "You're alive," he whispered.

"I thought you didn't have a sister?" I asked quietly, still feeling the sting of his words from weeks ago when I'd eavesdropped at the window.

His brow furrowed in confusion, "But _you're_ my sister."

"That's not what you said to mom and dad," I muttered.

His eyes widened in comprehension, remembering. "I didn't mean it that way," he entreated, "I just meant that you were... well, you know."

I looked at him sadly. I'd obviously misinterpreted his words, and if I'd stuck around I probably would have understood that. Two weeks, gone. And yet it felt as though no time at all had passed. How was I ever going to survive? Tony would die, my parents would also die, but I... I would live. "What are you doing with a bunch of vampires?" I finally asked. "I thought you were afraid of them."

He seemed relieved at the change in topic, so I let it slide as he began to explain, "I saved Rudolph's life, then he saved mine, and we're friends now. These are his parents, and his brother and sister. I'm helping them."

"By hiding them in the cellar?" I inquired.

"No," he shook his head, "I'm going to find the Stone of Attamon! It's at the McAshton's!"

"The what?" I wondered.

"It is the amulet that will make us mortal again," Rudolph's mother explained.

"You mean this... this Stone of Attamon... will turn vampires into humans?" I asked hopefully.

"Yes," the father said impatiently. "Now I am tired. Tony, show us where we may rest."

"Oh yeah," Tony said, motioning for the family and me to follow.

I glared hatefully at Gregory but followed behind them regardless. Dawn was approaching fast, and I couldn't afford to let my anger get the better of me because then I might be stranded in the daylight. We all quietly entered the house and descended the stairs into the cellar. The place was dank and dark, but since I was dead I found it to be rather pleasant. "So then, Gregory is your sire?" the little girl asked coyly.

"Yes," I muttered.

"You met under the moonlight, and he turned you. Then he left you," she continued, "to awaken on your own."

"Yeah," I said again, afraid of where she was going with this.

"And you were lost, and alone," she went on, "but now you've found him again!"

I blinked. Gregory snorted in disgust. Tony rolled his eyes. The parents glanced knowingly at one another. "Where are you going with this?" I asked.

"It's so romantic!" she claimed.

"Far from, actually," I told her.

"But you had secret meetings, he took you flying – he _drank_ from you."

"I put her to sleep," Gregory said tiredly. "And I only took her flying to shut her up."

I scoffed, crossing my arms petulantly. He made me sound like an idiot, beckoning death to me. "I have to go upstairs," Tony cut in, "but have a good day's sleep. Oh, and don't worry, I'm on it."

"On what dear?" the mother asked.

"On finding the amulet, mother," Rudolph answered. "That's how we kids talk today."

Rudolph climbed into a crate and then both he and my brother said, "Goodnight dude."

I almost laughed. Rudolph's assimilation into today's culture was a work-in-progress. I snorted when Gregory was put to bed inside a wicker chest. His parents still treated him like a kid, even though he was probably older than my own parents. The rest of us found whatever comfortable spot we could and drifted off to sleep.

OOOOOoooooOOOOO

I awoke to the sound of the vampire parents, whose names I still did not know, speaking quietly. "He's a rebel, but he's not traitorous," the mother said softly. "If he's taken it, then it's to go to the cliffs to make The Call."

"Then we must follow," the father said at once, "but I am still very weak. I would fall from the sky if I flew."

"We will find a way," the mother said.

Above us, we heard my parents talking loudly about how Tony was still not home and how he'd been gone most of the day with Rudolph somewhere. "Get them to drive you," I said.

The parents jumped and turned to me, seeming to have forgotten that I'd been there all along. "Of course," they said. "Will you be coming?"

"I... do I have to be at the cliffs to become human?" I asked.

"No," the mother replied. "But don't you think it would be best to let your parents know that you are alive?"

I shrugged. They looked at me sadly but left me behind as they crept up the stairs. I heard them knock on the front door, my parents answer, and then silence as they were all gone from the house. They were right. I should go – what would happen if I just turned up on my parents' doorstep, fully human and alive with no proof or explanation of how I came to be there? They would need to see for themselves, I decided.

I heard a sharp whirring sound from the west and knew immediately that this was The Call that the woman had been talking about. Gliding into the air, I realized regretfully that this would be the last time that I would fly. Soon enough I'd be human again, and all of this would fade until it became but a distant memory.

The cliffs were quite far from the house, so even though I flew as fast as I possibly could, it still took me a quarter of an hour to get there. I landed just as the parents pulled up. The vampires exited the car and approached their son, smiling at him with pride. How could they be proud of him? Their daughter, Anna apparently, hopped up from her seat beside Gregory and immediately shouted about Rudolph and Tony arriving shortly with the Stone.

Bats flew in from every direction, flashing brightly as they shifted into human form and settled onto the ground. They obviously smelt blood, for they surrounded my parents' car straight away. I could hear their terrified screams, but Gregory's father quickly shoved them out of the way and claimed my parents to be friends, then he beckoned them out of their car and led them over to where I stood. "Emma?" my dad asked faintly.

"Yes," I whispered.

"Y-you're alive?" my mom asked.

"Kind of," I said, touching my fangs.

"Tony's near," Anna said suddenly.

"Where?" my parents asked, seeming to forget about me.

I cringed and took a couple of steps back before spinning on my heel and hiding behind the crowd of vampires. "There!" Anna cried, pointing to the sky.

"Oh my God!" my parents shouted, seeing my little brother flying toward us, Rudolph by his side.

"I think you've been looking for this," Tony smiled, offering the Stone to his friend's father.

"The Stone of Attamon is ours!" he yelled in triumph.

The vampires made noises of victory while their leader attached the Stone to his necklace. They all turned to the moon, where a comet was about to hit. The leader lifted the amulet above his head and spoke in a language I couldn't understand. After he finished, a beam of light descended from the moon and linked itself to the amulet, but it was brief. Something large got in the way. "Hey, that's my blimp!" my dad said angrily.

The vampires screamed as Rookery rose up above them, bearing a glowing cross. He kicked the amulet out of the leader's hands and caught it a moment later. "With this I'll send you straight to hell," he cackled.

The vampires cringed and distanced themselves from Rookery, but I remained rooted to the spot. He noticed and recognized me immediately. "You," he growled.

"Me," I gulped.

"I warned you," he said smugly, thrusting the cross toward me.

I stumbled back, cringing. "Does this mean God exists?" I asked.

Rookery paused for a moment, staring at me as though I were a dimwitted fool. My dad took this pause to say that he had had enough, throwing the apron that he wore into Tony's arms and coming forward, punching the hunter in the face. He shook his hand afterward in obvious pain, so my mom took his place. When Rookery tried to harm her with the cross, she pushed it aside, saying, "I don't think so."

I then watched in shock as my mother, my sweet-tempered mother, punched the hunter in the gut and in the face. The Stone flew out of Rookery's hands. Rudolph screamed at Tony to catch it. My dad pushed the vampire hunter off the cliff. Tony caught the amulet, and all the vampires, including I, held their breath. "Tony, you know what we want! You have to wish it!" Rudolph shouted, staring back and forth between the comet and my brother. "You have to wish it – NOW!"

Tony held the Stone of Attamon above his head, and the comet responded, sending another beam of light. Tony closed his eyes and furrowed his brow in concentration, wishing with all his might. Smoke crept up from the sea, encasing the vampires. I watched with fright as they vanished, one by one. I would no doubt be next. I saw Rudolph give my brother one last fond look before the smoke surrounded me and clouded all of my senses. Silence, a bright red light, then nothing.


	3. Curse

**PART III**

I awoke in my bed with a fright, gasping for breath and wondering what scared me so. I flicked on my bedside lamp and breathed in deeply. My room smelt musty, as though it hadn't been used in quite some time. But that was preposterous. I hadn't slept anywhere else, and my family and I hadn't left home for quite some time.

I pulled back my curtains and immediately cringed at the sunlight, then wondered why. Why was I so afraid of the sun? I loved the sun! I opened my balcony doors and stepped slowly out into the light. I breathed in the fresh air and felt the afternoon sun warming my skin, though the air was a bit cool. My heart was pounding, something within me screaming to get out of the light, to take refuge in my room and close the curtains. I ignored it.

Not long after, I re-entered my room and left the doors open behind me. The place could use a little fresh air. I showered and dressed for the day with a smile on my face, feeling so very much alive. It was strange; I felt as though I had awakened from a very long sleep. "I suppose it is rather late," I chuckled.

Must be a Sunday if my parents didn't wake me up, which meant that they'd be home soon with brunch in tow. I hopped down the stairs in excitement, ready to relish my meal.

"Emma?" my mom asked, dropping the teacup she'd been drinking from.

The cup smashed against the floor, but I was the only one who jumped. "I thought it was a Sunday," I said. "Why aren't you at church?"

"It's Tuesday," she said absentmindedly. "How are you here? I thought you'd gone, with Tony's friends."

"Tony has friends?" I wondered. "When did this happen? And how can it be Tuesday? I went to sleep on a Saturday. And where are dad and Tony?"

"Work and school," she replied, staring blankly.

"What's wrong with you?" I asked. "Do you want me to call a doctor? Do you need to sit down?"

"You're alive," she whispered.

"I've been alive for fifteen years, mom," I said slowly. "Are you feeling alright?"

"But you were dead!" she contested.

"I never died, mom," I told her. What was wrong with her?

"I suppose not," she murmured. "Vampires are alive in their own way."

I choked on my saliva. "_Vampires_?" I asked. "Are you on drugs? Do you need more sleep? Tony's been keeping you up all night, hasn't he?"

"He doesn't have nightmares anymore."

"One night doesn't exactly equal forever," I said. "I think—"

"I have to pick Tony up from school," she interrupted.

"School isn't in session yet though," I said.

"Thankfully those horrible McAshton boys are leaving him alone now," she went on. "Nigel and Lint or something..."

_Two faces flashed before my eyes, staring at me with absolute horror. I could hear their furious heartbeats, smell their sweet blood. My mouth salivated. _

I shook my head, suddenly afraid again – and hungry. "I'll come with you," I said, hurrying after my mom.

She seemed not to notice me as I climbed into the car and she pulled away from the house before I even closed the door. Something was seriously wrong here, I thought. My mom wouldn't even turn on the car until we wore our seatbelts, and here she was pressing on the gas before I even sat down comfortably. I was really worried.

OOOOOoooooOOOOO

We pulled into the parking lot of an elementary school and I realized that, yes, school was already in session. Kids were running out of the building, chatting excitedly now that they were away from teachers. "Tony!" I called, spotting my brother.

There were two others beside him, holding his things, and the moment they spotted me they paled drastically. I thought that they were going to faint. "Emma!" Tony yelled with wide eyes. "You're here!"

"Yeah," I said, quickly approaching the trio. "I guess I must have slept through a couple of days or something. Who're your friends?"

"These aren't my friends," Tony said bluntly.

Confused, I turned to the boys and two very similar people flashed before my eyes. Though the two before me were not in pyjamas, they were evidently the same people. "Did you sleep over at our house once?" I asked.

They shook their heads furiously before the taller one blurted, "We haven't been mean to him! Honest! You – you can have the rest of our lunches – or, we'll bring you whatever you want to eat! Just not us, not again!"

"I am a little hungry," I said slowly, confused as to why this statement drew my eyes to their necks.

"You can't!" the taller one claimed, bravely apparently if the way his brother looked at him said anything.

"I can't what, be hungry?" I wondered.

"You can't feed in broad daylight," the boy whimpered. "There are too many people around; they'll see you!"

"I'm pretty sure it's not illegal to eat around others," I said slowly. "Tony, get your stuff and come on. Mom's acting funny; I think she might be sick."

My brother's eyes were flashing between me and the brothers, comprehension dawning. "You ate them!" he accused while I pulled him away from the strange kids.

"I'm not a cannibal," I snapped. "That's disgusting!"

_Something sweet, sweeter still with the smell of fear. Their hearts pounding, pumping blood, preparing for quick consumption._

I shook my head, clearing it of cobwebs. I must have had a nightmare, and it must still be bothering me.

"—but now you're human again!" Tony finished.

"Sorry," I said, licking my dry lips, "what were you just saying?"

"I said that you must have fed from them when you were a vampire, but you're not anymore so you won't do it again. Even though it's kind of funny," he laughed.

_Vampire._

Now why did that word seem to call forth such emotion from me? And why were both Tony and my mother speaking as though they were real? "What happened?" I asked him as we climbed into the car. "Both of you are acting so funny."

"Emma," Tony said slowly, "you died."

"No I didn't," I argued. "I'm right here, aren't I? Why do both of you keep treating me like I'm not – like I'm not really living here?"

"You _were_ dead," Tony said adamantly. "Gregory turned you into a vampire—"

_Gregory. Red eyes staring into mine. Fear, euphoria, pain, horror, anger, and the terrible need to obey. _

"Sorry," I said again. "Something about a – a Gregory turning me into a... vampire?"

"Yes!" Tony shouted. "You remember?"

"Remember what?" I asked.

Tony groaned, smacking himself in the face. "You try, mom," he begged.

We pulled into the driveway and my mom turned off the car, but remained sitting. We all did, feeling the rising tension. "Gregory turned you into a vampire," my mom said monotonously. "I guess he visited you and took you flying or something. I'm not sure.

"You died. We had your funeral. Then two weeks later we saw you at the cliffs with the rest of the Sackville-Baggs. Tony used the amulet to wish..."

"I wished that all of the vampires would become human again," Tony finished. "And you are! But where's Rudolph? If you're here, then he must be alive too."

"You guys are crazy," I accused, slamming the car door behind me and entering the house.

I climbed up the stairs to my room but paused before the door. I turned and faced the heavy door that led to the tower. I slowly pushed the door open, hearing it creak loudly. The stairs were bathed in sunlight, and on most there were stains. "This looks like blood," I whispered.

"We think that you met Gregory up there," Tony said quietly.

I jumped and spun around quickly, staring at my brother. "What?"

"Well, we wondered where you two met all the time. We thought it was your room, like how Rudolph and I met, but I tried to go up there one day to see if maybe you left something, and I found this," he motioned to the drops of aging blood.

"Have you gone all the way up there?" I asked.

Tony shook his head, "I... I didn't want to."

I nodded in understanding. If he felt even a fraction of the apprehension I felt just staring at these familiar stairs, I couldn't blame him at all. "Will you come with me?" I asked.

He gave me a small smile and took my hand, then faced the stairs determinedly. We climbed them and pushed the final door open. "There's nothing," I breathed.

And it was true; only the chair was upturned. There was no sign of blood anywhere, no sign of a struggle. Tony walked over to the window and looked out at the green land before him. "I don't know why you like it up here," he told me.

"I don't like it anymore," I said, shivering. "Let's go back downstairs."

He nodded and we climbed back down, closing both doors behind us.

That night, Tony filled me in on everything he could possibly think of. I'd been a vampire for about two weeks – I could remember some things while Tony described what had happened – and then I had vanished completely for a couple of days. Neither of us knew what had happened to me during this time.

Eventually my dad came home and hugged me fiercely. My mom finally came out of her slump and began baking all the sweets I could possibly want and then some. Tony was still sad that Rudolph hadn't come back, but he figured that since I had trouble remembering until nudged, then Rudolph and his family would probably have the same problem.

_Our_ problem was convincing everyone else that I was still alive. They had to do DNA tests to prove it, and there were a lot of questions, but I pretended to have lost my memory. My parents supported this decision and filled in the blanks of how I retrieved my identity – they found me wandering by the cliffs, they said. The doctors were horrified, of course, for having falsely declared my death. We pretended to forgive them.

_My_ problem was much worse. They dug up my coffin and discovered the body of the boy I had killed. They didn't realize that I'd killed him, of course, but they knew that something funny had gone on. The police said that someone must have killed the gravedigger, and they already had a prime suspect. Apparently Rookery had provoked many complaints, and because the hunter had always gone on about vampires – and the truck the cops had found crashed in the sea was mighty suspicious – he was the main suspect. Luckily enough he was already dead and unavailable for questioning, so the police closed the case and declared me an innocent bystander. I was relieved.

But I'd killed someone, and that memory would never leave me. The police thought that it had been Rookery who'd killed the boy, but I knew better. My parents suspected this as well, but my dad never said anything because he'd been the one to push Rookery off the cliff; my dad had killed the hunter and I'd killed the gravedigger. My mom gave me sympathetic looks. My brother, though, was the worst. He constantly asked me about my brief life as a vampire. Most of the time I refused to answer him, but when I _did_ answer him, the stories were never happy ones. He was convinced that I was lying. I was convinced that he was a bastard.

OOOOOoooooOOOOO

On the last Sunday of the month, I went to church with my family. My reasoning was that if vampires feared the cross, then this must be the true religion. Church was insufferable though, so I quickly dropped that illusion. It wasn't worth it. Besides, my soul was already damned for having killed someone, and it felt utterly wrong to enter a place that was supposed to be sacred when I was already so tainted. I was also still terrified of crucifixes. Seeing anything related to Christianity made a deep fear bubble up within me. I cringed and hissed when Tony had playfully thrown a cross at me, and though it hadn't actually hurt me, he never did it again.

After our horrible time at church (and I noticed that it was all of us and not just I who suffered), we went out to breakfast and to the outdoor market. It was there, at the market, that Tony spotted his friends Rudolph and Anna. He ran over, calling out to them, "Hey! It's me! Tony!"

They obviously didn't remember him, as they looked at him funny and began to walk away. Tony suddenly whistled loudly, a sound that pierced my ears. Rudolph and Anna turned back, eyes fogged for a moment before staring in recognition. They remembered a lot quicker than I had. The two skipped over to my brother while the rest of their family showed up walking toward their moving van. Gregory was there. "Mom, dad," I said, "I'm going back to the car."

They nodded in understanding but told me that they were going over to talk to the Sackville-Baggs. While they did that, I hid my face and snuck back to the car. "You're not hiding from me, are you?" someone asked.

I gasped and faced my sire – _no,_ Gregory. "I don't want to talk to you," I snarled, turning away from him and reaching for the car's handle.

"Look at me," he demanded.

I wanted to ignore him, to slam and lock the door behind me, but that wretched part of me turned and my eyes rose slowly to meet his. "What?" I snapped.

"You're not fully human," he said, not sounding terribly surprised.

My chest tightened. I wanted to deny it; it couldn't be true. But it was. "I suspected," I whispered.

He took a step forward and backed me into the car. I couldn't move – moving meant looking away, and I couldn't do that. "You never managed to control your instincts," he said.

"Can you blame me?" I asked. "I was only a vampire for two weeks."

The back of his hand rubbed against my cheek gently and he stared at me with regret. "I should never have left you alone," he admitted.

I didn't know what to say to that. If he'd brought me with him, I might not have retained my instincts, but I would have had to spend loads of time with the one who'd killed me. "Can't you just _keep_ leaving me alone?" I beseeched.

He shook his head and cupped my chin, staring at me with such dark eyes. I swallowed heavily, wanting so badly to look away. "You will learn to control it," he promised, "but you will have to do so with me."

"Why?"

"Because I'm your sire. Your instincts recognize that, and they will not feel the need to react but for obedience's sake in my presence. You feel safe with me," he explained quietly.

I exhaled slowly, begging him with my eyes. I wanted him to tell me that I could stop looking at him, that I was free to do as I desired. He slowly brought his lips to meet mine, and we shared our second kiss. At least there was no blood this time, I thought snidely.

"Close your eyes," he whispered.

I did as told and licked my lips nervously. His soft lips descended onto mine once more and, feeling how badly he wished for me to return his gesture, I kissed him back. My hands were fisted in his shirt; one of his remained on my face, cupping my cheek gently, and the other wrapped around my waist, pulling me flush against him. His body was warm. I moaned quietly, unintentionally, when Gregory's tongue glided along my bottom lip.

"See! They _were_ having an affair!" Anna cried.

"Act as you wish," he whispered against my mouth before pulling away.

I opened my eyes and turned to see Anna pointing in an evident 'I-told-you-so' fashion, and Tony and Rudolph were staring at Gregory and me in horror. "Ew!" they exclaimed.

I tried to pull away from Gregory, but his hand remained firm on my waist. My sire did not wish to let me go quite yet. My instincts were gleeful and satisfied, but I was sickened. Gregory would be able to do whatever he wished to me, and I couldn't protest. I stood silently while my sire explained to our siblings that I was not yet entirely human, but that with his aid I would be able to shed my vampire instincts and learn to live naturally, humanly. They ate it up like candy, Anna with hearts in her eyes, and our brothers with surprising rationality. Our parents reacted in much the same way, though Gregory's parents were much more understanding than my own. Mine, I could tell, wanted to keep me as far away from my killer as physically possible – a sentiment that I quietly shared.

OOOOOoooooOOOOO

That night, the Sackville-Baggs came for dinner at our house. My dad was bursting with excitement at being able to cook for people who had never eaten an American meal, and my mom was happy to learn about the family's life from centuries ago. Tony was just glad he'd gotten his friend back. I, however, was not excited, happy, or glad. I was terrified.

We ate dinner and then my parents brought Mr and Mrs Sackville-Bagg into the living room to share drinks and swap stories, or whatever it was that parents did, while my brother and his friends went to play outside. Gregory led me up the stairs and paused before walking over to the tower door. "Let's go up here," he smirked.

I swallowed heavily an tried to protest, but he took my hand and brought me up there regardless. The tower was cold and becoming darker as the sun started to set. My heart pounded heavily in my chest and I wondered what was going to happen. He walked over to the window and stared before facing me again. "You do realize," he began, "that I lied."

"What?" I asked.

"You will never lose your instincts. You can control them around everyone else, but you can never hide them from me," he swore.

"Why would you lie?" I demanded to know.

He chuckled before answering, "Because now no one will think twice about the time you spend with me. Even your parents can't contest it, if I'm supposedly able to help you. And you won't be able to tell them otherwise."

"You're crazy," I whispered. "There's no way that someone won't find out eventually."

"You're forgetting, _Emma_, that you are my creation. I turned you, and your instincts will always crave for my company," he said smugly.

"They didn't when I was a vampire," I argued. "Why should it be any different now?"

"Blood," he said simply. "When a vampire drinks his victim's blood, he gains strength."

"Then I'll just have to find a donor, won't I?"

"But you won't," he assured me.

"And why not?" I demanded.

"Because you will never take another's blood, offered or stolen," he ordered.

I felt my instincts rise up and agree with him. "Why are you doing this?" I wondered aloud.

"I didn't give up my instincts," he revealed. "The rest of my family were stupid enough to become fully human, to give up their powers."

I gasped softly, understanding that this was not Gregory the human who stood before me, but the vampire in human flesh. He, unlike the rest of his family, had not changed. This was still the creature that had killed me. "You're a monster," I growled.

"Mm," he agreed, "but no one else will know that, because you are not going to tell anyone the truth of my existence."

I nodded obediently. Gregory smiled at me. My eyes flickered to the window and an impossible idea entered my head, though I kept my frightened expression. What if I killed him? I'd already killed someone – a human, a good soul – so what difference would it make if I killed this monster? Wouldn't his hold on me disappear with his death? There'd be no more sire to obey. It was perfect!

Determined, I advanced toward the window and stared out, waiting for the creature to follow as I knew he would. He closed the gap between us, wrapping his arms around me and breathing deeply from my neck. "I can still smell your blood," he confessed.

I shuddered. If I had to do this, I would do it now. I turned around, facing him with my back to the window. He smirked, obviously thinking that he had succeeded in... breaking my spirit, or whatever it is he'd wanted to do. Using all my strength, I switched our positions and then thrust him out of the tower. His eyes widened as gravity pulled him toward the earth, but he seemed disconcerted. I watched in fright as he paused in mid-air and rose back up, floating gently through the window and staring at me in disappointment. "Really?" he asked.

"Y-you can fly!" I stuttered.

"Of course I can," he snapped. "Didn't I just tell you that I kept my powers?"

"But I thought—"

"You thought that I meant instincts alone, a pathetic existence like yours?" he laughed.

"Yes," I whimpered.

"I'm still a vampire," he divulged. "The only difference between now and then is that I do not fear sunlight or crosses. I am fearless."

"You can still be killed," I breathed out in relief.

"That may be true," he admitted, "but what hunter could ever suspect me of being a vampire?"

I sniffed suddenly, trying to hold back tears. This was hopeless! I was – I was doomed! I had thought, after remembering my time as a vampire, that I would continue on with my life, that I would be able to think back on it as a particularly vivid nightmare; that was impossible now.

A lone drop slid down my cheek and Gregory wiped it away, pressing me against the tower wall. "This doesn't have to be unpleasant," he promised.

"How could it possibly not be?"

"Well," he said, cupping my face and neck with both of his hands, "if you would just succumb to me, you'd find that this life can be... euphoric."

I started to object, but he kissed me once more. The kiss was fierce and possessive, consuming. I wouldn't have it! My lips parted and I sunk my teeth into his bottom lip, drawing blood. Gregory, rather than getting angry, became aroused and pressed me harder against the wall, groaning. I could taste his blood in my mouth, that delectable metallic taste. I closed my mouth and stopped moving at once. "What?" he growled.

"I can't take your blood," I replied.

"You can have blood so long as it's mine," he said impatiently, pressing bloody lips against my neck.

Blood meant strength. If I could just—

"Emma, Gregory! It's time for desert!" my mom called from below.

Gregory growled once more, but licked up the last remnants of blood and pulled away. "You won't tell anyone about this," he said once more for emphasis.

I nodded, grimacing. We walked downstairs and entered the lounge where plates full of pastries waited to be eaten. "Gregory!" his mother gasped. "Why do you have blood on your lips?"

Gregory licked the blood away and smiled sheepishly, "We were working on her control. She still wants blood even though she doesn't need it."

Mrs. Sackville-Bagg nodded in understanding, "Blood lust is very powerful, but it should get easier since she won't be drinking any."

We sat down on the sofa and Gregory insisted on sitting very close to me. Anna thought it was sweet, still under the delusion that we were in love. No doubt that delusion would spread when Gregory decided to bring a false representation of our relationship to light. That _would_ make it easier for him, wouldn't it? Gregory offered me a plate of cookies and smiled threateningly. I swallowed and took a sugar cookie, nodding at him. I would have to obey for now.

_Mark my words_, I thought darkly, _you may think you have succeeded, but this is far from over. _Somehow, I would kill him. I would destroy him, and when I did, I would finally be free from this curse.


End file.
